Conor Benn has exacted revenge on Chris Eubank Jr with a dominant display to by unanimous decision in their rematch on Saturday night at a sold-out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The victory was the first for the Benn family in their 35-year rivalry with the Eubanks which has now seen four fights in total. The sons of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr had produced a classic encounter in April which went the way of the latter to ensure it was 2-0 after three historic bouts.
In truth, Saturday’s bout failed to live up to the spectacle of the previous three encounters but the Benn family will not care as Conor triumphed 119-107, 116-110 and 118-108 on the judges’ scorecards in a one-sided fight.
Benn produced two knockdowns in the 12th and final round to underline his dominance in this rematch.
And speaking after the fight, the 29-year-old declared that the family rivalry was over and that there would be no trilogy between the sons after avenging his loss and his father’s defeat in 1990 in Birmingham. There was also the controversial draw which followed three years later that left Benn Sr incensed.
Conor Benn rules out trilogy fight with Chris Eubank Jr
‘Everyone saying I can’t box, put that in your pipe and smoke it,’ a delighted Benn reflected.
‘It’s been some journey and this is the end of the Benn-Eubank saga. Done, finished, it’s over. I know Chris has twins coming and I’ve got my boy, but this ends here.
‘This wouldn’t have been what it was without Chris and our dads most of all. This is generational, this has never been done before in history.
‘Credit to Chris, man. That’s all I’ve got to say. Thank you for sharing the ring with me.’
Chris Eubank Jr is gracious in defeat
Eubank Jr, who hugged Benn in the ring after the fight, was magnanimous after the fourth defeat of his career.
‘I’ve been through hell and back to make it here,’ Eubank Jr said. ‘I genuinely thought that regardless of the issues that I have been dealing with, I would be able to go in there and win, use my boxing skills and use what I used in the first fight to beat Conor Benn.
‘From that first round, I realised that I was mistaken, but it’s OK. I’m a fighter and this is what I do. Regardless of the dangers and the risk, we go to war and that’s what we do.
‘I tried my best. Conor Benn put on a hell of a fight, he had a great performance and did everything that was asked of him. I congratulate him for his performance.’
After declining to expand on those issues, he refused to face any questions about retirement, adding: ‘We’re not talking about that right now.
‘This is not about me. This night is about Conor. He did what he needed to do to win and he fought a great fight.
‘You guys saw what I was in there tonight. Yeah, I thought once those bright lights hit and that round went, that I’d find something and I tried.
‘I tried hard, but it wasn’t there and Conor was strong, was fast and he was tough. Yeah, congratulations to him.’
Continuing on later, he said: ‘You know right now, I’m not really in the state of mind to be thinking about next fights.
‘I need to heal, I need to deal with what I am dealing with and then after that, I can start thinking about my path in the sport.’
